US defends Russian oil sanctions waiver for India

New Delhi has said it does not need permission from Washington to buy crude, as it continues imports from Russia

Top US officials have defended the rationale behind the temporary waiver of sanctions on purchases of Russian oil for India, amid a surge in oil prices caused by the Middle East conflict.

The US has urged New Delhi to buy Russian oil that is already floating at sea and redirect it to Indian refineries to “tamp down” fears of supply shortages amid the raging Iran war, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in an interview with Fox on Sunday.

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ that the 30-day pause will “allow the millions and millions of barrels of oil that are sitting out on ships to go to Indian refineries.”

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Friday that India was granted a 30-day waiver to purchase oil from Russia, saying this will “alleviate pressure caused by Iran’s attempt to take global energy hostage.” He also claimed that India stopped buying Russian oil on Washington’s request.

“The Indians had been very good actors. We had asked them to stop buying sanctioned Russian oil this fall. They did. They were going to substitute it with US oil. But to ease the temporary gap of oil around the world, we have given them permission to accept the Russian oil. We may unsanction other Russian oil,” he said.

Read more

India has maintained that it does not need permission to purchase Russian oil. Media outlets cited officials on Saturday as saying India would not be relying on “a short-term waiver” for oil imports, nor was it affected by previous US attempts to make it abandon Russian energy.

“India is still importing Russian oil even [through] February 2026, and Russia is still India’s largest crude oil supplier,” the government’s Press Information Bureau was quoted by NDTV as saying.

Since 2022, India has increased oil purchases from Russia. Before Washington sanctioned two of Russia’s largest oil exporters, Rosneft and Lukoil, last October, India’s monthly imports of Russian crude hit a record high of 1.88 million barrels per day.

According to Kpler data, India’s imports of Russian oil in February 2026 stood at 1.12-1.16 million bpd, making Russia the top supplier despite a 22% drop year-on-year.

The surge in oil prices will not stop the US from waging its war on Iran, President Donald Trump has said, after Brent shot past $100 per barrel on Sunday.